Recent developments in the physics of liquid crystals

Some of the more recent advances in the field of liquid crystals are summarized, with emphasis on the experimental developments rather than their theoretical implications. A major part of the discussion is devoted to newly discovered phases and phase transitions, particularly those that are of special interest to condensed matter physicists. Observations are also described of two new phenomena, which, although predicted by the continuum theory, have eluded experimentalists for many years: (a) the appearance of a regular network of singular points at the nematic-isotropic interface and (b) the Lehmann rotation effect in cholesteric liquid crystals under the action of a d.c. electric field.